ATELIER LMNO

There Is A Crack In Everything

Seeking flawed authenticity over pristine perfection

Photo: Adobe Stock

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“Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget, your perfect offering. There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” — Leonard Cohen

You might find it ironic that in the midst of trying to corral wayward writers through the process of writing guidelines and publishing standards, I might simultaneously try to convince them that perfection is a myth and seeking it, a complete waste of spirit. This is not to say we should avoid striving for excellence, as excellence is different than perfection. Excellence is the best you can do with the tools you’ve been given, while perfection is nothing more than the unattainable folly of the delusional and compulsive.

There are all manner of side benefits to going through the process of attempting excellence. I think of NASA and everything they’ve accomplished. Everyone knows about the moon landings, the deep space voyagers, and the Mars rovers, and it’s easy to think that these accomplishments are not terribly relevant to our everyday lives. However, somewhere in the…